Machine for the production of formed patties with a hand made appearance, and method for interleaving paper and stacking

ABSTRACT

A cut-off device is used for providing a deposit of known portion weight of the ground meat or paste. This deposit is dropped accurately onto a conveyor belt for transport to a press wheel the height of which, from the conveyor, can be adjusted to provide a finished product of correct thickness. The press wheel has a system of vacuum ducts around the circumference in four chambers that pull paper from a de-nesting tray situated at the top of the press wheel, at the correct interval as to meet up with the deposit at the base of the wheel. This results in the deposit being pressed to the required thickness onto the conveyor, with the interleave paper attached to the top of the now formed patty.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. Section 119(e) from provisional application Ser. No. 60/947,286, filed Jun. 29, 2007, which is expressly incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of food processing, and more particularly to the field of meat patty processing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the processing of meat patties (hamburgers), ground meat or a similar paste is formed into various shapes, but more commonly a round, flat patty for cooking and placement in a bun.

In one known process, the patties are formed by pressing the meat into a mold plate and ejected using a knock out. This method produces a patty of known volume and weight, but one with a sharp mechanically produced look. Paper is interleaved between the patties to stop the patties from sticking together when stacked.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It can be appreciated that an automated system for the production, paper interleaving, and stacking of patties with a hand made appearance is desirable. However, the design of such an apparatus must take into consideration space, efficiency, and simplicity.

In embodiments described here, a cut-off device is used for providing a deposit of known portion weight of the ground meat or paste. This deposit is dropped accurately onto a conveyor belt for transport to a press wheel the height of which, from the conveyor, can be adjusted to provide a finished product of correct thickness. The press wheel has been provided with a system of vacuum ducts around the circumference in four chambers that pull paper from a de-nesting tray situated at the top of the press wheel, at the correct interval as to meet up with the deposit at the base of the wheel. This results in the deposit being pressed to the required thickness onto the conveyor, with the interleave paper attached to the top of the now formed patty.

The embodiments described here also allow for stacking of the patty with paper attached. A problem that exists is that a patty is now stuck upside down to the conveyor with paper on top. The patty now needs to be separated from the conveyor and flipped before it can be stacked. This is achieved by a roller and wire located at the end of the conveyor, whereupon the patty is separated from the conveyor. Flipping is achieved by a simple drop onto a secondary belt as the method of separating the patty from the belt as described above, results in a flipping action of the product, and depending on the height of the second belt, the patty lands upright with the paper at the bottom. Taking this example to the next level, by making this second belt vary in height from the first, patties can be stacked such as in groups of one to six patties with paper interleaving.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a machine for the production of patties with a hand made appearance.

FIG. 2 is a close up of the device used to set the patty thickness.

FIG. 3 is a view of the patty flipper and stacking device.

FIG. 4 is a view of the vacuum manifold.

NUMBERED LIST

-   -   10 is a machine for the production of patties with a hand made         appearance, with paper interleaving and stacking.     -   20 is a feed conveyor.     -   30 is a cut-off device.     -   40 is a vacuumized press wheel.     -   80 is a paper de-nesting tray.     -   90 is a piece of patty paper.     -   100 is a deposit of ground meat, meat paste, or similar.     -   130 is a stacking belt.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An apparatus 10 for the production of patties with hand made appearance, paper interleaving, and stacking is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4. The apparatus 10 generally includes a rolling base 140 having a central support member, four supporting legs 142, and four braked casters (not shown). The central support member is also utilized to mount the vacuum pump. The apparatus 10 further includes a safety guard, and a frame box that encases the drive system and electrical components. Mounted to the rear of the apparatus is a cut-off device 30, below which sits the in-feed conveyor 20. The cut-off device could be pneumatic, servo, or any other known mechanism which facilitates providing the deposit of the food for the patty at the appropriate time. The conveyor consists of a belt 21 and two sides 22 (FIG. 4) mounted to the frame box. Under the belt 21 is an adjustable lift plate 23 that changes in the distance between the belt 21 and a press wheel 40, using lever 24. This allows the thickness of the finished patty to be adjusted.

The apparatus 10 further includes a vacuumized press wheel 40. Within the press wheel 40 are vacuum chambers and vacuum ducts and slip ring 43 that allows suction from the vacuum pump to be delivered to the individual chambers and form the vacuum ducts of the press wheel 40 in order to suck and pull the patty paper 90 from the paper de-nesting tray 80 as the wheel 40 is rotated.

The apparatus 10 further includes a free turning roller 131 and wire 132 to separate the deposit 100 with paper 90, from the feed conveyor 20. This is located above the stacking belt 130, consisting of an o-ring belt 137 and stacking tray 136 that is adjusted for height by actuator. A sensor 134 is utilized to trigger the stacking tray 136 so that the patties stack correctly. A second sensor 135 is located at the exit of the o-ring belt 137 to ensure the stack is clear of the stacking tray 136, so the stacking cycle can re-start.

In operation, a deposit 100 is dropped onto the feed conveyor 20 by the cut-off device 30. The deposit is triggered by a sensor 44 located at the rear of the press wheel 40. The sensor 44 is adjustable so that the deposit 100 is synchronized to the patty paper 90 as it comes round on the press wheel 40. As the press wheel 40 rotates, the patty paper 90 sheets are continually pulled from the paper de-nest tray 80 while the sensor 44 continues to trigger the cut-off device 30. This ensures that a continuous stream of finished patties 101 are coming through the press wheel 40. The synchronization of paper and deposit could be achieved by using a servo drive on the wheel or conveyor. Then a sensor could detect the deposit and bring them together using simple closed loop technology.

The thickness of the finished patty 101 is determined by the height set on the lift plate 23. The patties with paper 101 arrive at the end of the feed conveyor 20 and slide over the top of the roller 131 where a wire 132 separates the patty with paper 101 from the surface of the roller 110 allowing the finished patty 101 to fall and flip so the paper 90 is now at the bottom of the finished patty 101. Situated below the roller 110 is the stacking tray 136 lifted up between the o-ring belt 137. The released patty with paper 101 now lands on the stacking tray 136, and the stacking tray 136 drops closer to the o-ring belt 137 as the actuator is triggered by the sensor 134. When the required stack of patties is obtained, the stacking tray 136 drops below the height of the o-ring belt 137 so that the stack is automatically taken away from the base of the roller 110, and feed belt 20, the second sensor 135 sees that the stack has cleared the stacking tray 136 before triggering the actuator to lift the stacking tray 136 back up to receive the next stack of finished patties 101.

The foregoing description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. Furthermore, the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein. Consequently, variations and modifications commensurate with the above teachings and the skill and knowledge of the relevant art are within the scope of the present invention. The embodiments described herein are further intended to explain best modes known for practicing the invention and enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention in such or other embodiments and with various modifications required by the particular applications or uses of the present invention. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include alternative embodiments to the extent permitted by the prior art. 

1. An apparatus for producing patties from a food product, said apparatus comprising: a conveyor; a cut-off device for providing a series of deposits, each with a desired quantity of a food product, onto the conveyor; a press wheel for pressing the deposits of the food product to form a series of patties on the conveyor as the deposits are moving on the conveyor; a vacuum system for holding and then releasing a separate sheet of paper onto each of the patties on the conveyor as the patties are moving on the conveyor; and a sensor system for causing the cut-off device and the vacuum system to be synchronized such that a continuous stream of patties is formed on the conveyor and a sheet of the paper is provided on each of the patties as the patties move past the vacuum system on the conveyor in order to provide a series of pressed and paper covered patties, thereby providing in one machine pressed patties with a sheet of paper.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a paper de-nesting tray for holding sheets of paper, the vacuum system getting sheets of paper from the tray.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a roller and wire to flip each pressed patties with paper by 180 degrees, and a stacking conveyor for receiving the flipped patties.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the conveyor is utilized to catch flipped finished patties on top of each other to a preset condition, after which said conveyor indexes so a next stack can be started.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the preset condition is a number of patties.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the preset condition is a total height of the stack of finished patties.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the food product is ground meat or meat paste.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the press wheel and the vacuum system are combined such that the patty is pressed while a sheet of paper is provided on the patty.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a speed of the conveyor is set to that of a circumferential speed of the press wheel, thus ensuring the food product is moving at substantially the same speed as the circumferential speed of the press wheel.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the press wheel has a plurality of vacuum chambers internally, and vacuum ducts around its circumference, wherein the ducts, when attached to a vacuum source are utilized to pull individual sheets of patty paper from a stack of sheets of paper.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cut-off device is pneumatic.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the synchronization is achieved by using a servo drive on the press wheel or the conveyor.
 13. A method comprising: providing a series of deposits of a desired quantity of a food product onto a moving conveyor; pressing each of the deposits of the food product into a patty on the conveyor while the deposits are moving with the conveyor; providing a sheet of paper for separating patties onto each patty on the conveyor while the patties are moving on the conveyor; and synchronizing the act of providing the series of deposits and the act of providing sheets of paper such that a continuous stream of patties is provided on the conveyor and the paper is provided on the patties as the patties are pressed to provide the food product, pressing the food product, and providing the sheets of paper in one machine and in a continuous manner.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising flipping each paper-covered pressed patty by 180 degrees, and stacking the flipped patties.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the food product is ground meat or meat paste.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the acts of pressing and providing the paper are performed at the same time on each patty.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein the pressing is done with a press wheel, wherein a speed of the conveyor is set to that of a circumferential speed of the press wheel, thus ensuring the deposits of food product are moving at substantially the same speed as the circumferential speed of the press wheel.
 18. An apparatus for producing patties from a food product, said apparatus comprising: a conveyor; a cut-off device for providing a series of deposits, each with a desired quantity of a food product, onto the conveyor; means for pressing the deposits of the food product to form a series of patties on the conveyor while also providing a sheet of paper onto each of the patties on the conveyor as the conveyor is moving; and means for causing the cut-off device and the pressing and providing means to be synchronized such that a continuous stream of patties is formed on the conveyor and a sheet of the paper is provided on each of the patties as the patties move on the conveyor.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein means for pressing includes a press wheel with a plurality of vacuum chambers internally, and vacuum ducts around its circumference, wherein the ducts, when attached to a vacuum source are utilized to pull individual sheets of patty paper from a stack of sheets of paper.
 20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ability to press the deposit and provide the paper consist essentially of the press wheel and the vacuum system. 